England vs. Wales + Bye Bye Jenni

The day after pint 39 was always going to be a big one. Not only did we have the North London derby in the Premier League, there was also a 6 Nations double header AND my friend Jenni was having a leaving party to go off to New Zealand for a year. I went to uni in Wales and always hated the England vs Wales games of the 6 Nations as an Englishman in Cardiff. Knowing that there’d be some serious drinking going on, I decided to hit up Thornhill Farm Shop and a little local shop called Sainsbury’s to stock up on some great ciders for the day. This would be something I’d come to regret the next day as the hangover was one synonymous with high % fermented apples. Esther was taking Jenni to get a tattoo (a poor man’s version of the might lobster that adorns my right inner-ankle) so I headed off down to Paddy Day-Care for Tottenhem vs Arsenal.

Pint No. 40

What? – Gwynt Y Ddraig, Gold Medal Cider

Where? – Patrick and Scoble’s Gaff, Cardiff

When? – Saturday 10th February 2018

Sometimes it’s a good idea to ease yourself in when starting a session. I forgot this and dived straight in to a 7% number. Gwynt Y Ddraig’s Gold Medal Cider. It was the first Welsh Cider to ever win the CAMRA Gold Medal 14 years ago and it’s still a tasty pint. It’s a medium-dry cider, clear and crisp and without much head to speak of, fizzy without being over-carbonated. I do have quite a superficial issue with this pint and it’s about the bottle. In contrast to Black Dragon especially, Gold Medal looks tacky and unprofessional and a bit naff. Anyway, that doesn’t have any impact on the taste which holds up as a strong bev.

Overall Score: 3.5/5

Pint No. 41

What? – Orchard Pig, Hogfather

Where? – Patrick and Scoble’s Gaff, Cardiff

When? – Saturday 10th February 2018

Big pint. Big, big pint. It’s a slightly sparkling version of their standard Hogfather which comes still. Like all good cider, the higher alcohol content is hidden by a great taste. 7.4% is quite strong and on top of my last pint, I knew I was in a fight. Orchard Pig suggest Hogfather is best followed by a Hangover Cure and a Cheddar Ploughmans and I can see why. To be honest, I prefer the still version of this one, but it was still tasty enough from the bottle.

Overall Score: 3/5

Pint No. 42

What? – Gwynt Y Ddraig, Farmhouse Scrumpy

Where? – Patrick and Scoble’s Gaff, Cardiff

When? – Saturday 10th February 2018

Things start to get a little hazy now, in more than one way. Back for my third Gwynt Y Ddraig pint of challenge, this time it was the Farmhouse Scrumpy. I’ve had a lot of scrumpy style cider in my time and this doesn’t come that close to the top of them. It wasn’t bad, however, compared to the rest of the ciders I did that day, it was closer to the bottom. At 5.3%, the medium-dry hazy cider was a lot easier on the liver but was also probably the heaviest of the ciders.

Overall Score: 3/5

Pint No. 43

What? – Thatcher’s, Katy

Where? – Jenni’s Gaff, Cardiff

When? – Saturday 10th February 2018

Simply put, one of the best ciders available. Crisp, clear, boozy, tangy, dry and fizzy, but not too fizzy. I’m going to let it speak for itself.

Overall Score: 5/5

Pint No. 44

What? – Orchard Pig, Truffler

Where? – Jenni’s Gaff, Cardiff

When? – Saturday 10th February 2018

I’m treating myself now. This is another classic pint and another of my favourite drops. It’s the driest of the three most readily available Orchard Pig numbers which suits me down to the ground. Such a drinkable cider.

Overall Score: 4.5/5

Pint No. 45

What? – Magners

Where? – Jenni’s Gaff, Cardiff

When? – Saturday 10th February 2018

What can I say?! All out of nice cider, but not quite ready for the spirits/vinyard send me over a Shagners. It’s strangely orange, strangely sweet and basically tastes nothing like any cider I’d normally drink. But to be fair to the bugger, when you’re already multiple pints down, it fills a hole. England are on the way to victory by this point and I’m well on the way to oblivion so no photo of this one. Basically would look like Irn Bru.

Overall Score: 2/5

After half a bottle of gin, some prosecco, red wine and god knows what else, we headed into town. I’m told when we got to the club I had another pint but I honestly cannot remember being in the club let alone doing a pint so I’m going to have to ignore whatever that was.